The number of defendants in criminal cases of sabotage on railways has reached 137 people, Mediazona calculated. There are fewer cases themselves — only 76, in many cases there are several accused in one case.
In April, a year after the start of the full-scale invasion, Mediazona managed to count 66 defendants — this number doubled in six months.
Most of them are very young people. We know the ages of 124 defendants. 39 of them were minors at the time of their arrest. Another 55 people are aged from 18 to 25 years. And only 17 defendants in such cases are over 35.
A significant part of criminal cases are investigated specifically under the article on sabotage (Article 281 of the Criminal Code), some — under terrorist articles. For more details, see the updated “Media Zones” infographic.
The branches are burning. Sabotage on railways and prosecution for them — in the updated infographics of Mediazona
Railway sabotage in Russia became widespread after the start of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. At the same time, the arrests reported by security forces usually do not correlate with reports from partisan associations that publicly claim responsibility for acts of sabotage.